Houston suburb ranks No. 10 for holiday spending

shop 'til you drop

The Woodlands is the U.S. city with the No. 10 biggest holiday spending budget in 2023, and a few other Texas neighborhoods rank highly as well. The Woodlands Mall/Facebook

Santa and his elves get busier with every passing year, but sometimes even Kris Kringle has to use his black card to get the job done. And according to a new study by Wallethub, Santa's gonna be working overtime to fulfill the orders for residents of The Woodlands this holiday season.

The personal finance experts have determined The Woodlands is the U.S. city with the No. 10 biggest holiday spending budget in 2023. Shoppers in the affluent Houston suburb are expected to spend $3,316 this festive season.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, The Woodlands' estimated population of 114,436 had a median household income of $130,011.

This is The Woodlands' first time in the holiday shopping spotlight. The Houston suburb ranked a much lower – No. 71 – in last year's report with an average spending budget of $1,733. Way to step it up.

The nearby city of Sugar Land is a returnee, and moved up one place from No. 15 last year into No. 14 this year. The average holiday budget for a Sugar Land household is $3,210.

Houston fell into No. 209 this year with an average household holiday budget of $1,296. Houston skyrocketed away from its previous rank as No. 366 in 2022 with an average spending budget of $890.

Six other East Texas cities landed in this year's report on the heftiest holiday budgets:

  • No. 31 – Pearland ($2,566)
  • No. 34 – Missouri City ($2,517)
  • No. 234 – Beaumont ($1,244)
  • No. 238 – Pasadena ($1,237)
  • No. 407 – Conroe ($935)
  • No. 438 – Baytown ($872)

Each year, WalletHub calculates the maximum holiday budget for over 550 U.S. cities "to help consumers avoid post-holiday regret," the website says. The study factors in income, age of the population, and other financial indicators such as debt-to-income ratio, monthly-income-to monthly-expenses ratio, and savings-to-monthly-expenses ratio.

Shoppers will have to keep a closer eye on their bank accounts this year while they search for the best gifts for their loved ones. Many consumers are running out of savings accumulated during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Yao Jin, an associate professor of supply chain management at Miami University.

To combat overspending, Jin suggests setting hard budgets based on personal financial circumstances and develop a list of "must haves" rather than "nice to haves."

"Holiday times are festive, and retailers know that festivities can boost mood and lead to a propensity to overspend," he said in the Wallethub report. "In fact, that is also why retailers tend to have more generous return policies to both alleviate concerns of unwanted gifts and buyer’s remorse. The key to avoiding holiday overspending is for consumers to take the emotions out of the decision, to the extent possible."

Other Texas cities that made it in the top 100 include:
  • No. 3 – Frisco ($3,546)
  • No. 5 – Flower Mound ($3,485)
  • No. 22 – Allen ($2,964)
  • No. 30 – Plano ($2,566)
  • No. 44 – Cedar Park ($2,354)
  • No. 56 – McKinney ($2,165)
  • No. 67 – Carrollton ($1,928)
  • No. 71 – Austin ($1,877)
  • No. 77 – Richardson ($1,809)
  • No. 95 – League City ($1,733)
  • No. 99 – North Richland Hills ($1,706)

The report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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About 34 percent of Houstonians moved here within the three-year scope of the study. Photo by CY on Unsplash

Houston unpacks No. 7 rank in U.S. for recent moves, says new report

by the numbers

Houston is shifting as people move into the city and around it. A new population analysis by online loan marketplace LendingTree has named Houston the No. 7 metro for recent movers.

The study used population data from a 2021 U.S. Census Bureau survey to determine householders and renters who moved to their current home in 2019 or later. It reflects people moving around Houston as well as moving into it, so it's not just new residents being counted.

About 34 percent of combined homeowners and renters living in their current Houston homes moved here within the three-year scope of the study. For homeowners, that's about 19 percent, compared to about 58 percent of renters.

The three-year median home value appreciation rate in Houston was 15.15 percent, the study says, echoing similar reports that the city remains one of the top housing markets for growth.

But other reports that are not looking at such long-term averages are showing that the market seems to be stabilizing recently. In August of 2023, Zillow reported home prices in Houston dropped 0.4 percent from the previous year to $264,789.

Rent appreciation was not as dramatic, but renters are surely feeling it regardless. The data shows the three-year median gross rent appreciation rate was 4.48 percent.

Renters are much more likely than homeowners to move due to multiple factors: personal circumstances, rising rent prices, landlords who want to change their lease terms, and many others.

"While some regulations protect renters and make it harder for landlords to force them out of their homes, these protections aren’t always robust," the study says. "Because of this, renters can more frequently find themselves in situations where they’re forced to move, even if they like their current home or are strapped for cash."

Both Dallas and Austin also ranked within the top 10, placing No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. Austin saw nearly 39 percent of homeowners and renters moving between 2019 and 2021, while Dallas had 35 percent of homeowners and renters moving within the same time frame.

The U.S. metros with the largest shares of homeowners and renters who moved in 2019 or later are:

  • No. 1 – Austin, Texas (38.82 percent)
  • No. 2 – Dallas (34.91 percent)
  • No. 3 – Las Vegas (34.81 percent)
  • No. 4 – Denver (34.71 percent)
  • No. 5 – Orlando, Florida (34.55 percent)
  • No. 6 – Phoenix (34.03 percent)
  • No. 7 – Houston (33.50 percent)
  • No. 8 – Jacksonville, Florida (33.27 percent)
  • No. 9 – Nashville, Tennessee (33.14 percent)
  • No. 10 – Salt Lake City, Utah (32.94 percent)
The full report can be found on lendingtree.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

Texas ranks in the top 10 states with promising digital economies. Photo via Getty Images

The future of Texas’ digital economy is strong, according to a new study

by the numbers

A new report from California-based software firm Tipalti ranks Texas in the top 10 for states with the best digital economy outlooks.

Based on findings from Indeed.com, the U.S. Census Bureau, The Computing Technology Industry Association, and BroadbanNow, the study looks at which states and countries are best prepared for future and continued shifts towards a more digitized world.

Texas was ranked ninth overall, with a score of 8.4 out of 10 for Tipalti’s digital economy score. The report based this score on a few criteria. Here’s what it found.

Texas was found to have had:

  • 86.23 “digital jobs” per every 100,000 posted
  • A 425.9 MBps download speed
  • 2,634.01 tech employees per every 100,000 employees
  • An economic impact of $142.8 billion economic impact from the tech sector
  • 39,299 tech firms in the state
  • A $91,885 median tech occupation wage

Comparatively, Virginia, which ranked first with a 10 out of 10 score, had:

  • 125.09 “digital jobs” per every 100,000 posted
  • A 505.6 MBps download speed
  • 4,047.26 tech employees per every 100,000 employees
  • An economic impact of $57.8 from the tech sector
  • 20,600 tech firms in the state
  • A $105,412 median tech occupation wage

Of the states in the top 10, Texas had the second-highest tech sector economic impact, falling only behind California with an impact of $515.6 billion. California also had the highest number of tech firms in the country with a total of 54,303.

Vermont was reported to have embraced remote working the most, with 63.05 remote jobs posted per 100,000 residents. Maryland had the highest average download speeds of 506.7 Mbps. And tech workers in Washington were reported to earn the highest median tech occupation wage of $124,653.

The United States did not rank on Tipalti's list of countries with the most promising digital economies. The city-state, which could "dominate the digital landscape in the near future," according to the report, had $193.93 billion in total tech exports in 2020.

On a late-2022 report, Houston and Texas also ranked high among regions to launch a startup. Houston ranked as ninth, falling just behind Dallas at No. 8, on a list from the 42Floors real estate website of the top spots for new entrepreneurs. Around that same time, Job search platform Lensa also ranked Texas as the best state to launch a startup.
For the second decade in a row, Houston could have the second highest number of new residents for any metro area. Photo by DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images

Houston expects to see huge population surge this decade, study says

incoming

Brace yourselves, Houston. Following a decade of eye-popping population growth, Houston is expected in this decade to once again lead the nation's metro areas for the number of new residents.

New data from commercial real estate services company Cushman & Wakefield shows Houston gained 1,284,268 residents from 2010 through 2019. In terms of the number of new residents tallied during the past decade, Houston ranked second among U.S. metro areas, the data indicates.

From 2020 through 2029, Houston is projected to tack on another 1,242,781 residents, Cushman & Wakefield says. For the second decade in a row, that would be the second highest number of new residents for any metro area, the company says. That's around the number of people who live in the Louisville, Kentucky, metro area.

For Houston, the 2020-29 forecast would represent a population growth rate of 17.2 percent, down from 21.6 percent for 2010 through 2019, Cushman & Wakefield says.

As of July 2018, the Census Bureau estimated the Houston area was home to nearly 7 million people, making it the country's fifth largest metro. If the Cushman & Wakefield projection is correct, the metro population would easily exceed 8 million by the end of 2029.

The outlook is based on data from Moody's Analytics and the U.S. Census Bureau. The company published its findings January 7. The outlook takes into account a metro area's birth and death rates, along with the number of people moving into and out of an area.

The forecast indicates Houston won't be alone among Texas metro areas in terms of rolling out the welcome mat for lots of new residents.

Dallas-Fort Worth is expected to once again lead the nation's metro areas for the number of new residents. DFW gained 1,349,378 residents from 2010 through 2019, ranking first among U.S. metro areas for the number of new residents.

From 2020 through 2029, DFW is projected to tack on another 1,393,623 residents. That would be the highest number of new residents for any metro area for the second decade in a row.

The 2020-29 forecast would represent a population growth rate of 17.9 percent, down from 20.9 percent for 2010 through 2019, Cushman & Wakefield says.

As of July 2018, an estimated 7,539,711 people lived in DFW, making it the country's fourth largest metro. Under the Cushman & Wakefield scenario, DFW's population would swell to about 9 million by the time the calendar flips to 2030.

Austin, meanwhile, is projected to retain its No. 9 ranking for headcount growth among U.S. metro areas, according to Cushman & Wakefield. The company says the Austin area added 549,141 residents from 2010 through 2019. From 2020 through 2029, another 602,811 residents are on tap. At that pace, the Austin area is on track to have roughly 2.9 million residents at the outset of the next decade.

Cushman & Wakefield envisions a 26.5 percent population growth rate for the Austin area from 2020 through 2029, down from 31.8 percent in 2010-19.

The Cushman & Wakefield report doesn't include figures for the San Antonio metro area.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Intuitive Machines forms partnership with Italian companies for lunar exploration services

to the moon

Houston-based space technology, infrastructure and services company Intuitive Machines has forged a partnership with two Italian companies to offer infrastructure, communication and navigation services for exploration of the moon.

Intuitive Machines’ agreement with the two companies, Leonardo and Telespazio, paves the way for collaboration on satellite services for NASA, a customer of Intuitive Machines, and the European Space Agency, a customer of Leonardo and Telespazio. Leonardo, an aerospace, defense and security company, is the majority owner of Telespazio, a provider of satellite technology and services.

“Resilient, secure, and scalable space infrastructure and space data networks are vital to customers who want to push farther on the lunar surface and beyond to Mars,” Steve Altemus, co-founder and CEO of Intuitive Machine, said in a news release.

Massimo Claudio Comparini, managing director of Leonardo’s space division, added that the partnership with Intuitive Machines is a big step toward enabling human and robotic missions from the U.S., Europe and other places “to access a robust communications network and high-precision navigation services while operating in the lunar environment.”

Intuitive Machines recently expanded its Houston Spaceport facilities to ramp up in-house production of satellites. The company’s first satellite will launch with its upcoming IM‑3 lunar mission.

Intuitive Machines says it ultimately wants to establish a “center of space excellence” at Houston Spaceport to support missions to the moon, Mars and the region between Earth and the moon.

Houston hospitals win $50M grant for ibogaine addiction treatment research

ibogaine funding

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has awarded $50 million to UTHealth Houston in collaboration with The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB Health) to co-lead a multicenter research trial to evaluate the effect of ibogaine, a powerful psychoactive compound, on patients suffering from addiction, traumatic brain injury and other behavioral health conditions.

The funding will establish a two-year initiative—known as Ibogaine Medicine for PTSD, Addiction, and Cognitive Trauma (IMPACT)—and a consortium of Texas health institutions focused on clinical trials and working toward potential FDA-approved treatments.

The consoritum will also include Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, The University of Texas at Tyler, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Texas A&M University, The University of North Texas Health Science Center, Baylor College of Medicine and JPS Health Network in Dallas.

Ibogaine is a plant-based, psychoactive substance derived from the iboga shrub. Research suggests that the substance could be used for potential treatment for patients with traumatic brain injuries, which is a leading cause of post-traumatic stress disorders. Ibogaine has also shown potential as a treatment for addiction and other neurological conditions.

UTHealth and partners will focus on ways that ibogaine can treat addiction and associated conditions. Meanwhile, UT Austin and Baylor College of Medicine will concentrate on using it to treat traumatic brain injury, especially in veterans, according to a news release from the institutions.

The consortium will also support drug developers and teaching hospitals to conduct FDA-approved clinical trials. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission will oversee the grant program.

“This landmark clinical trial reflects our unwavering commitment to advancing research that improves lives and delivers the highest standards of care,” Dr. Melina Kibbe, UTHealth Houston president and the Alkek-Williams Distinguished Chair, said in the news release. “By joining forces with outstanding partners across our state, we are building on Texas’ tradition of innovation to ensure patients struggling with addiction and behavioral health conditions have access to the best possible outcomes. Together, we are shaping discoveries that will serve Texans and set a model for the nation.”

The consortium was authorized by the passage of Senate Bill 2308. The bill provides $50 million in state-matching funds for an ibogaine clinical trial managed by a public university in partnership with a drug company and a hospital.

“This is the first major step towards the legislature’s goal of obtaining FDA approval through clinical trials of ibogaine — a potential breakthrough medication that has brought thousands of America’s war-fighters back from the darkest parts of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic addiction,” Texas Rep. Cody Harris added in the release. “I am excited to walk alongside UTHealth Houston and UTMB as these stellar institutions lead the nation in a first-of-its-kind clinical trial in the U.S.”

Recently, the University of Houston also received a $2.6 million gift from the estate of Dr. William A. Gibson to support and expand its opioid addiction research, which includes the development of a fentanyl vaccine that could block the drug's ability to enter the brain. Read more here.

Tesla no longer world's biggest EV maker as sales fall for second year

Tesla Talk

Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics, expiring U.S. tax breaks for buyers and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row.

Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9% from a year earlier.

Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, is now the biggest EV maker.

It's a stunning reversal for a car company whose rise once seemed unstoppable as it overtook traditional automakers with far more resources and helped make Musk the world's richest man. The sales drop came despite President Donald Trump's marketing effort early last year when he called a press conference to praise Musk as a “patriot” in front of Teslas lined up on the White House driveway, then announced he would be buying one, bucking presidential precedent to not endorse private company products.

For the fourth quarter, Tesla sales totaled 418,227, falling short of even the much reduced 440,000 target that analysts recently polled by FactSet had expected. Sales were hit hard by the expiration of a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases that was phased out by the Trump administration at the end of September.

Tesla stock fell 2.6% to $438.07 on Friday.

Even with multiple issues buffeting the company, investors are betting that Tesla CEO Musk can deliver on his ambitions to make Tesla a leader in robotaxi services and get consumers to embrace humanoid robots that can perform basic tasks in homes and offices. Reflecting that optimism, the stock finished 2025 with a gain of approximately 11%.

The latest quarter was the first with sales of stripped-down versions of the Model Y and Model 3 that Musk unveiled in early October as part of an effort to revive sales. The new Model Y costs just under $40,000 while customers can buy the cheaper Model 3 for under $37,000. Those versions are expected to help Tesla compete with Chinese models in Europe and Asia.

For fourth-quarter earnings coming out in late January, analysts are expecting the company to post a 3% drop in sales and a nearly 40% drop in earnings per share, according to FactSet. Analysts expect the downward trend in sales and profits to eventually reverse itself as 2026 rolls along.

Musk said earlier last year that a “major rebound” in sales was underway, but investors were unruffled when that didn't pan out, choosing instead to focus on Musk's pivot to different parts of business. He has has been saying the future of the company lies with its driverless robotaxis service, its energy storage business and building robots for the home and factory — and much less with car sales.

Tesla started rolling out its robotaxi service in Austin in June, first with safety monitors in the cars to take over in case of trouble, then testing without them. The company hopes to roll out the service in several cities this year.

To do that successfully, it needs to take on rival Waymo, which has been operating autonomous taxis for years and has far more customers. It also will also have to contend with regulatory challenges. The company is under several federal safety investigations and other probes. In California, Tesla is at risk of temporarily losing its license to sell cars in the state after a judge there ruled it had misled customers about their safety.

“Regulatory is going to be a big issue,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a well-known bull on the stock. “We're dealing with people's lives.”

Still, Ives said he expects Tesla's autonomous offerings will soon overcome any setbacks.

Musk has said he hopes software updates to his cars will enable hundreds of thousands of Tesla vehicles to operate autonomously with zero human intervention by the end of this year. The company is also planning to begin production of its AI-powered Cybercab with no steering wheel or pedals in 2026.

To keep Musk focused on the company, Tesla’s directors awarded Musk a potentially enormous new pay package that shareholders backed at the annual meeting in November.

Musk scored another huge windfall two weeks ago when the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a decision that deprived him of a $55 billion pay package that Tesla doled out in 2018.

Musk could become the world's first trillionaire later this year when he sells shares of his rocket company SpaceX to the public for the first time in what analysts expect would be a blockbuster initial public offering.

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